The number of flights operating from Chandigarh International Airport October 3 onwards is likely to be around 30 as the new watch hours would be implemented due to resurfacing of the runway, which is manned by the Indian Air Force. Currently, 37 flights are in operation.

Sources at the Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHIAL) told Chandigarh Newsline on Thursday that Indigo and Jet Airways are planning to curtail some flights due to the new watch hours. The two airlines operate the maximum number of flights from the airport on a daily basis.

According to the tentative schedule, the number of flights, which would be operated by Jet Airways from next month, is likely to be eight, including five to Delhi, two to Mumbai and one to Jaipur. The airline operates 10 flights at present.

Indigo, which also operates 10 flights, will curtail some flights from October 3. Airline sources said the daily flight to Srinagar and evening flights to Bangalore and Bombay would be discontinued. The airlines is planning to operate seven flights after the new watch hours. The international flight to Dubai, however, would continue. A Jet Airways official said the airline was planning to operate the “maximum number of flights at the airport and they were finding it difficult to get slots at Delhi airport due to heavy traffic”.

Airport sources also said that SpiceJet, which operates seven flights at present, may curtail a few due to the new watch hours. Go Air, Vistara, Air Asia are unlikely to discontinue any flight as they are already operating a less number of flights, sources added. Air India, too, has submitted a revised schedule to CHIAL, which shows that they have not discontinued any flight from October 3.

According to the new watch hours, the runaway would remain open to civil flights only from 5 am till 4 pm from October 3 to March 31, 2018. IAF has also communicated to the Chandigarh airport that it would remain completely shut for 30 days, on two different occasions of 15 days each, during resurfacing of the runway.

CHAIL CEO Sunil Dutt on Thursday said the “new flight reschedule is being prepared”. An airport official said the
new schedule from October 3 will be enforced for “a brief period” as the winter schedule would be out in the last week of October.